


Electric Love

by RomaNatty



Series: The Adventures of Nataline "Nat" Hawke [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Elemental Magic, F/M, Original Character(s), Universe Alteration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4293216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomaNatty/pseuds/RomaNatty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fenris recently begins to notice that Hawke has a strange ability. He also notices that he is the only one of the group who has seen it first-hand. He is determined to find out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Electric Love

**Author's Note:**

> The events in this fic take place in act II, before Bitter Pill. Bitter Pill is often glitched to start only when going to Sundermount, so that's why they're able to go help Aveline on the Wounded Coast.

Fenris stepped off the edge of the roof and landed safely on the hard and sharp tiles of another roof, careful not to stomp his feet and attract the attention of anyone inside the home he was so casually walking on. He could see Hawke's house not too far off and continued to make a bee-line toward it. Luckily, the sun wasn't out and the tiles were all cool enough not to burn his feet.

Hawke had called on him this morning, sending her short butler Bodahn to his door. The panting little man told him that she wanted to go on a quick mission to drop off lost property before going to help Aveline with her meet-up at the Hanged Man.

When Bodahn left to go running back to the mansion, Fenris decided to take the shortcut. He climbed his roof and began his walk, skipping the streets entirely. When he lived in Hightown at first, it was a little enjoyable to walk around in broad daylight. Given the way he looks and dresses, it was fun at first to see the scared faces of the aristocracy. However, he also had to listen to the endless prattle of the rich and stuck-up citizens that were his neighbors. He’d had his fill of listening to entitled humans talk thanks to his many years in the Imperium.

He had, instead, improvised a shortcut that let him skip by all of those people and get to his friend's new home faster. He could see Bodahn hustle into Hawke's mansion from his perch, only two homes away. He jumped onto the next roof and then got to an edge where he could lower himself to the ground. He decided on an over-exaggerated jump which scared a nearby noblewoman, causing her to gasp dramatically and start fanning herself so hard that her wrist looked ready to fly off. Fenris smiled back at the flustered woman and chuckled to himself when she was out of earshot.

He didn't even have a chance to knock. The minute he stepped up to the door, it flew open and Hawke nearly walked into him.

"Oh, hi! I was just coming out to wait for you." she smiled after the initial shock wore off, quickly closing the door behind her. They both heard her mabari trying to sniff out the visitor from under the door. "I'm guessing you took the roof path?" He could hear the disapproving tone in her voice.

"I didn't burn my feet this time, I promise." Fenris told her indignantly. She grimaced a little and said something about investing in shoes as they began walking together to Lowtown. Along the way, she made good of her message and gave some Hightown residents their lost items. Some were simple, like books and scarves, but there were also strange things like detached fingers of someone's husband or something. Either way, people reacted like Hawke found some great treasure. They were caress it or hide it from prying eyes. Fenris found the whole thing very odd, but it made them coin and that was what counted.

Soon, they were walking down the big stone steps into Lowtown and toward the Hanged Man. Hawke glanced around at the stalls, her gaze lingering on a trinket stand for a moment before they passed it and headed for the pub entrance. Aveline was in conversation with Varric outside already, looking very nervous. When she saw Hawke and Fenris approach, anxiety turned to relief.

"Donnic is already inside and he's all alone! I knew we should've invited more guardsmen." Aveline immediately began hissing to Hawke once she was close enough.

"If the lack of guards is the issue here, then I'll look like the idiot, not you." Hawke jested, trying to reassure her friend. In order to get Donnic, a guardsman Aveline fancies, to the Hanged Man, Hawke told him there was a party there that he should come for. It was a stretch, but as long as it got the two of them together, Aveline was grateful. "Just get back inside and wait for me. We'll handle this together and you'll have your man." Aveline nodded and walked slowly back into the pub. Hawke's smile dropped when she was gone and she rubbed her forehead.

"Not confident about your own plan, Hawke?" Varric smirked.

"If you can call me forcing Donnic to drink while Aveline grows some balls a plan." She sighed and shook her head. The two men beside her snorted a little. "Alright, I'm going in. Fen, save me a drink?"

"Sure. Good luck." He gave her shoulder a pat.

There it was. He almost blinked and missed it, but he definitely saw a sliver of energy flash where his palm was on Hawke's arm a moment ago. Before he could process what happened, she went into the bar and they heard the patrons shout "Hawke!". Varric followed her in but went to sit at a table near where Aveline was hiding and Fenris decided to go to the bar and sit beside Isabela.

Fenris could hear that the pirate start talking to him, but his mind was on that flash of energy. He had seen Hawke do that many times since they began hanging out after her trip to the Deep Roads. He first noticed it probably when he helped Hawke and her mother move into the mansion, but he figured that it was a trick of the light or flyaway dust. However, the more time they spent together, the more apparent it was. Most recently, when Fenris told her the story of his escape from Denarius, he could see it dancing on her skin or in her hair, but it was so light and blended into her hair. He would have missed it if it wasn't such a reoccurring thing. He never had the courage to ask her about it, wondering if he really was seeing things or if she even knew it was happening.

"Helloooooo? Thedas to broody elf!" Isabela began snapping her fingers in Fenris's ear, which made him lean away and wave her off like a fly once he snapped out of his own thoughts. "What are you thinking about so hard that you don't want to hear about me stealing a guy's pants?"

"You steal a lot of pants, Isabela. I think Hawke actually returned one guy's pants this morning."

"Fair point, but you're still not listening to me." She whined. "C'mon, broody, sovereign for your thoughts."

"First of all, don't call me that." Fenris grumbled. He was pretty sure she picked that up from Varric. "And if you must know, I was thinking about Hawke–"

"Ooo, that's much juicier than stealing pants. Tell me more." Isabela leaned in closer, her eyes glued to Fenris's face.

"Well, have you ever noticed Hawke displaying anything strange?"

"Oh honey. I know you haven't seen a woman naked, or don't remember it, but that is called a vagina, my dear Fenris." Isabela explained, sounding the word out.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Aww, look at that blush!" She cooed and poked his warm cheek. He swatted her hand away.

"I meant like energy. Weird light coming off of her skin." He blushed further because of his awkward explanation. Isabela did not let up on teasing him either, which did not help.

"That sounds poetic. You should write it down!"

"Bah, forget it!" Fenris got up to move, but the laughing pirate grabbed his arm while laughing and tugged on it. He had to rip it away when he felt the pain shoot up his arm.

"No no, I'm sorry. I'll stop." He sat back down and looked at her wearily, waiting for her to stop laughing. "So, weird energy stuff? You mean like magic?"

"I suppose." Fenris shrugged. Hawke was a mage and so she had all sorts of powers that could explain what he had been seeing.

"Not my expertise, then. Maybe you should ask her about it?" She suggested, but Fenris shook his head.

"I feel like it would embarrass her to bring it up, or worse she'd have no idea what I'm talking about. Hell, I could finally be losing it."

"Aw, don't be so down on yourself. It's not like you're any less crazy than anyone else she hangs out with."

"Thanks, Isabela." He grumbled. She patted his shoulder, careful of the spikes of his armor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donnic get up and leave Hawke sitting at the table, rubbing her forehead.

"Once you're done helping the big guard girl get a date, you should go talk to Anders or Merrill." Isabela murmured in his ear. Fenris flinched at the names and was ready to protest, but then Aveline walked over and began lamenting about her own stupidity. Fenris sighed and the earlier conversation was dropped for the moment.

**_~*~*~_ **

"Wow, you're here for healing without Hawke dragging you in? It's not my birthday, is it?" Anders smirked at Fenris, washing his hands in a basin. The elf glared back at him and decided not to comment.

It took a few days of running around with Hawke and still being unable to figure out what was causing that energy to flash before Fenris threw in the towel and decided to visit the healer from Darktown for an explanation. He figured, if he had to choose between Anders and Merrill, he'd rather talk to the somewhat-knowledgeable abomination than talk in circles with the naive Dalish elf who couldn't navigate around the alienage without a ball of yarn tied to her door.

 _"Besides, while I'm here, maybe this so-called healer could figure out if there's something wrong with my head and fix it."_  he thought to himself.  _"Maker, it smells in here though."_  Despite Anders' snark, he decided to get right to the point.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something… about magic." Fenris mumbled the last word.

"I'm sorry?"

"Magic! I had a question about magic!" He repeated, a little too loud and very flustered. Anders just stared at him for a long time, then started pinching at his arms. "What are you doing?"

"Checking if I'm dreaming or not." The blonde man had to dodge when Fenris threw one of the cot pillows at his head. "Alright alright. Have a seat and ask your question. Do you mind if I work while you talk?"

"Yes, fine." Fenris sighed, finally relieved to get a straight answer. He hopped onto the cot that he took the pillow from. While Anders worked on healing his patients, he began to describe what he had witnessed when spending time with Hawke. He tried to not make it sound dirty or otherwise like it had with Isabela, but it still came out awkwardly phrased. Thankfully, none of the patrons in the clinic knew he was talking about Hawke, nor did they pay attention. When he was done, Anders was silent for a long time, even after healing the man he was working on when they started. Fenris began clicking his fingers against the cot in irritation after a while.

"Isn't this something you should be asking Hawke yourself?" Anders finally asked, raising an eyebrow at the elf.

"I don't want to embarrass her. What if she doesn't know she's doing it? Besides, I'm not even sure if what I see is real or if I'm hallucinating or something."

"Well, you don't let me heal you during battles, so I wouldn't be surprised if you received a few concussions."

"Very funny." Fenris was very close to throwing a pillow at that smug face again, but then Anders turned more serious and thoughtful.

"What you're telling me sounds like elemental magic, specifically electricity. I know for a fact that Hawke knows that kind of magic, so it's likely that's all it is." Even with that simple answer, he frowned deeply.

"What?" Fenris asked him wearily.

"The way you're describing it, Hawke is doing this unconsciously, unless she intends to electrocute you. While that sounds like an intriguing idea–"

"Watch it, mage." The elf warned.

"– I don't see her doing that to a friend." Anders finished, then shrugged. "I don't know. I've never heard of something like this."

"Perfect. I just spent an hour waiting in silence for a so-called mage expert to tell me he doesn't even know what he's talking about." Fenris growled under his breath and got up to leave.

"For fucks sake, would you stop with the mage hate for a moment and let me finish? I AM trying to help you." Anders said in annoyance, making the elf stop in his tracks. "There are mages who can use magic unconsciously. Normally, young mages coming into their powers can use it without knowing it based on strong emotion or thought. That's normally why circles lock mages up so young. I can tell you that from experience." He crossed his arms, his voice heavy on that last note. Fenris decided it was best not to ask for clarification.

"But you're talking about children who can't control magic. Hawke is a grown woman able to use magic for years."

"I know, but she was raised a free mage by a free mage. Think of how many of those mages are still running around today. Who knows how she had been taught to use magic?" Anders suddenly paused and thought about it. "Actually, Varric might know." Fenris blinked and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Varric?"

"He and Hawke talk constantly. Maybe he knows something about her magic or her father." The elf just stared at him incredulously. "It's a long shot, but it's either that or possibly embarrassing Hawke. Like you said, she might not even be aware of it."

"Fine." Fenris was almost out the door when a thought came to mind. "Hey, if that energy really is lightning magic and she is using it unconsciously but I'm the only one who has noticed it, doesn't that mean it happens around me the most?"

"I suppose so, yes."

"Well, what does that tell you?" Fenris asked. Anders had to think for a moment before smirking.

"Maybe she actually hates you and really is trying to electrocute you without knowing it."

It took every ounce of self-control for Fenris not to throw his sword at his head. He stormed out of that foul-smelling clinic without another word.

Fenris made it to the Hanged Man and up to Varric's room, but he stopped dead in the doorway. Varric was sitting in his usual seat and talking to Hawke, who was sitting on the table in front of him. He could not hear what they were discussing and they had not noticed him yet.

He stood there and waited for them to finish, looking at Hawke and considering what he had just learned in the meantime. Of course he had seen her use elemental magic in battle; there was nothing more amazing than watching her fireballs rain down from the sky and roasting bandits alive or when she freezes a grown man solid so he would have the pleasure of shattering him. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he considered Hawke's magic to be a beautiful thing. He kicked himself for thinking that, but he couldn't help but be in awe.

Still, that question he asked Anders rolled around in his head. If it is some sort of reflex that even Isabela and Anders hadn't seen before, what does that say about him? Was Anders right when he said that maybe Hawke hates him?

"Hey broody!" Varric called out, snapping Fenris out of his thoughts. The realization that he was still staring at Hawke while zoning out dawned on him just in time. Hawke turned just in time for his eyes to snap up and look at her face.

"Hi Fen!" She smiled. "I didn't know you'd be coming to the Hanged Man."

"Ah, um, I was just coming to talk to Varric about something." he answered, half smiling back at her.

"Oh! My bad, I didn't know I was keeping you waiting." She hopped off the table and gave Varric a hug before heading toward the door behind Fenris. "I'll just get out of your hair, then."

He moved out of her way so she could get to the door, but she paused right in front of him. "Really quick, Aveline's little date with Donnic on the Wounded Coast is tomorrow. Do you want to come with and help me clear their path?"

"Me? I thought you were taking Isabela."

"Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to watch Aveline make a fool of herself again, Aveline would prefer not worrying about our devious pirate during the date. Plus, I trust you to watch my back more than I trust Isabela." she admitted. Fenris could not help feeling smug at that answer. "Just, you know, don't let her know I said that." She whispered to him.

"Then I'd be happy to escort you." He took her hand and bowed before her comically, making her giggle gently. He felt a small tickle on his palm where her fingers were and he managed to look up and see a flash of lightning at her fingertips. She pulled her hand back as he straightened up and he saw her face was red.

"Thank you, Fen. I'll see you then." She kept smiling, but her voice sounded slightly nervous. She turned away and rushed down the steps toward the bar, probably to tell Isabela of the changed plans. Fenris looked after her, then down at his palm. There was no sign that the lightning had even touched him at all, so that's a good sign. That means she wasn't trying to electrocute him, even though he definitely felt something.

 _"'I trust you more to watch my back'. Ha, suck it, abomination!"_  He smirked to himself.

"Very smooth, elf." He jumped slightly, having forgotten that Varric was in the room. The dwarf had his chin in his hands, smiling up at him. "Did you actually want to talk to me or was all of that a lie to get a moment with Hawke?"

"Yes. No! No, it wasn't a lie. I did actually have a question for you." He walked over to sit in the chair next to Varric. The dwarf nodded in understanding, waving his hand for Fenris to talk. Tired from all the explanation, he told Varric very briefly about what he had witnessed and what he needed to know.

"Aw, elf. Trust me when I say that it's nothing to worry about." Varric chuckled.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Look, it may be difficult for most of the others to see, but have you ever noticed how Hawke looks like she's on fire during a big fight?"

"Isn't that from the fireballs she uses?" Fenris wondered.

"No! You don't see Blondie or Daisy engulfed in flame every time they use a fireball." Varric leaned in closer. "Let me put it to you this way: Hawke's first magical talents came from using fire, ice, electricity, rock, the works! The way I understand it, her father taught her to use it but probably not how to control it completely. It wasn't until she was an adult, after years of hiding in Lothering right under the Chantry's nose, that she realized it wasn't normal to display her magic that way."

"So… she just never learned to control the magic?" Fenris frowned. "How did she keep from being discovered sooner by the templars?"

"Like I said, she was well hidden in Lothering. Once she got to Kirkwall, she had to start teaching herself to exercise control, but when you teach yourself something like that so late in the game, it can be hard to maintain."

"Hawke is aware of it, then."

"She's very aware that it happens, yes. I'm speculating for the most part, of course. I don't know much about her little outbursts personally because she doesn't like to talk about it and I don't ask anymore, but Junior and Mama Hawke tell me some interesting stories."

"Like?"

"Well, fire normally means that she's angry or caught up in battle or something. I picked up on that myself. Her mother once told me that her room felt like a cold front when her father died. One time, Junior scared her so bad that she covered herself completely in rock out of reflex." Fenris's eyes went wide and Varric nodded. "Yeah, it can get that bad."

"What do you think lightning means?" Fenris was starting to get impatient. This is why you don't talk to a storyteller: there is no 'small explanation' with them.

"By product of elimination and the fact that the only time I've seen it happen for myself is when she got the coin to pay for the expedition, I'd say it was a happy feeling. Still, I can't say for sure. You should try asking her." Varric suggested. Fenris wanted to scream, but opted for faceplanting into the table. Yet another useless conversation.

After that long talk with Varric, Fenris made his way home. It was already dark out and he could hear the shuffling of people rushing into their homes and out of sight. He kept himself faintly glowing to ward off any stupid thieves from trying to mess with him, letting his mind drift.

Varric's explanation made sense to him, but he knew that trusting the embellishments of that dwarf was unwise. Still, thinking about it, any stray bit of light that came off Hawke was accompanying a smile. Even back at the Hanged Man, when he took her hand, she was laughing at his antics.

Hawke was one of the only people he had opened up to. She was a very witty and sarcastic woman, which brought out the humor in him. Despite the joking, they were still sincere with one another. She was a very good friend to him and he found himself happy around her, for the first time since he could remember. He was glad to know that he made her happy in the same way.

…or did he?

Those thoughts plagued him as well. If Varric was wrong about what the electricity meant, he could be misreading the situation completely. Talking to Hawke about it runs the risk of discovering that it actually means something completely different, like embarrassment or discomfort. Unfortunately, Fenris just played his last card. There's no one else who knows Hawke more than Varric, except Hawke herself.

He sighed deeply. There was no way around talking to her now, if only to find out if he's getting good news or bad news.

**_~*~*~_ **

The next day came and Hawke was at his door. They took a long walk to the Wounded Coast, although they didn't pick anyone else up. When he asked, Hawke simply said

"The smaller the group, the less attention we'll attract."

Fenris was skeptical of that excuse when, upon coming to the path that led through the rest of the mountain, they were immediately attacked by raiders. They were no problem for the two of them. Hawke was powerful with magic, so powerful that having a demon nest within her would've been terrifying. As for himself, no one is ever prepared for a glowing elf swinging a huge sword in combat. He had the element of surprise every time. Together, they were quite the team.

As per the deal Hawke made with Aveline, she lit the signal fire and the two of them ran ahead of the trail to clear the rest of the path, if need be. In these gaps, Fenris decided to bring up the subject of Hawke's lightning.

"So Hawke, I had a question to ask you." He started when they were kneeling behind a rock to wait for the next ambush.

"Shoot." she nodded for him to go on.

"I've been talking to Varric–"

"Oh no." she laughed a little. "If this is about fighting dragons, do not believe a word that little man says. There was only one and it wasn't even a high dragon." Fenris laughed as well.

"It's not about dragons. Actually, he was telling me a little about your magic."

"Oh? I didn't know you'd be interested in that." Hawke looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, I think he almost alerted the Chantry to make a holiday of it." Fenris rolled his eyes, making her giggle. "But I was wondering–"

"Ah, hold that thought. I see wild mabari hounds coming up the road." Pausing his train of thought, they fought off a bunch of dogs and lit the next signal fire.

"As I was saying, your magic. Varric was telling me that, sometimes, it… comes out, I suppose? When you're angry or sad or something?" Fenris frowned at his wording. He's done this three times and there's still no right way to phrase it.

"Oh. That." She caught what he was talking about, but she was frowning too. It made him a lot more nervous. Varric mentioned that she didn't like to talk about it.

"I was only asking because I had seen it for myself and I was curious. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Fenris looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No, you're fine, it's just– oh, tal vashoth up ahead!" Again, they were thrown into action against a group of qunari, but the battle wasn't hard. They finished them off, lit the fire, and curiously watched Aveline talk up Donnic. They could see from a distance that she was rambling and boring Donnic completely.

"Maker, she's bad at this." Hawke sighed. She and Fenris continued up the path, the latter waiting patiently for her to speak. "It's been a problem since I was a kid. My father called me an open book because I was so obvious with my emotions. I could never get the hang of controlling it completely if I tried, so it's a little embarrassing and terrifying."

They walked in silence for a moment, managing to find a group of slavers that Fenris particularly enjoyed killing. When it was over, he could see Hawke standing over a slaver mage she took down. He saw what Varric was talking about earlier; flames flickered along her arms by themselves, even though she wasn't casting any spell. However, it didn’t look like her clothes or skin was burning. It made her look radiant.

"I think it looks really badass when it happens, to be honest." He told her once the signal fire was lit.

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you know how stunning you looked just now?" She blushed at his compliment.

"And it has nothing to do with me standing over a dead body of a slaver?"

"I enjoy the little things." He shrugged and half-smiled jokingly, making her smile as well. They waited for Aveline to pass by. Hawke finally got fed up and, instead of hiding, confronted her. Fenris may have gotten them both in trouble by telling the oblivious guard that Aveline liked him. Donnic left and Aveline demanded that they return to the keep to help her fix this problem. Aveline then stomped off to try and head Donnic off. By the time Hawke and Fenris started walking down the mountain, the sun was setting.

The two of them stopped along the road to admire the blast of orange and red in the clouds. It made the roofs below gleam and put the whole city of Kirkwall in a gorgeous light. They stood there together in comfortable silence before Hawke spoke.

"Was there a reason you were asking about my little outbursts?"

"Um…" Fenris struggled to explain. "Well, I was only curious about it. I've noticed the fire thing before… and the electric thing."

"Ach, I knew it." She huffed, kicking a rock over the edge of the cliff they were walking along. She avoided his eyes as she spoke, arms crossed. "I don't like having my emotions be so obvious. Even if it's badass or useful for my friends to know, it's a pain to have my heart literally on my sleeve, for people to think they know me because it's so obvious how I feel. I'm on fire, so I'm clearly pissed off. Everything turning to ice? I must be upset. Now I don't even get to like a person and be happy around them without sparks flying off my body."

Fenris frowned and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Hawke. I didn't mean to upset you. I won't bring it up again. I'll escort you back home if you still want me to." He began to walk further down the mountain, but was stopped when his wrist was unexpectedly grabbed. He winced a little, the markings on his arm stinging from the direct contact, and looked down at her. She was smiling a little.

"Don't feel bad, Fen. I'm not upset at you for asking." She leaned up to peck him on the cheek.

Fenris froze when he felt a little tingle that tickled his skin when her lips touched his cheek. He chuckled a little. She pulled back and stared at him in confusion.

"Something wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Hawke asked, concerned. He stared back at her, an idea coming to mind. Without taking time to consider it, he leaned in and gave Hawke the smallest kiss on the lips.

 _Dzzt_. An electric current tickled him on the mouth and he couldn't hold back the small laugh that bubbled out when he pulled back, especially when he saw the stunned expression on Hawke's face. It slowly turned to utter confusion but she couldn't help smiling either.

"Wow, first kiss and you laugh. Is it my breath or something?" She gasped dramatically. "I kiss weird, don't I? Oh no, the horror!"

"N-no, I–" Fenris had to cover his mouth to keep from snickering more. It took him a few seconds to form full sentences. "When you kissed me here–" he pointed to his cheek. "–there was a slight tingle that made me laugh."

"Oh no."

"And so when I kissed you, a little bit of electricity tickled my mouth."

"Oh  _no_ " Hawke covered her face for a moment. "That's so much worse than kissing weird." She threw her arms up in defeat. "Welp, game over, just throw me off of this cliff." Fenris tried to grab her by the shoulders to soothe her, but then electricity tickled his hands and he started laughing again. "Maker stop that!" she cried, but now she was laughing as well.

They continued like that for ages. When the laughter finally died out, the sun was gone and only a lingering red glow remained. The two of them were slumped against the rocky wall of the mountain, trying to calm themselves.

"Well." Fenris huffed. "Now we know that your happiness is literally contagious."

"Maker save me." Hawke groaned, leaning her head back. "That is so embarrassing. I bet that's why Isabela laughed so much when I spent the night with her."

"Can't imagine what was tickling her." Fenris started laughing again when Hawke smacked him in the arm.

"You are an asshole!" she said, giggling regardless.

“I have to ask: how doesn’t it hurt you, or me for that matter?” Fenris asked, slightly cautious about his words. She thought about it for a moment.

“I never thought about it much before, but I suppose it’s more of the essence of magic. It’s an effect and it makes me more powerful when using it. That’s why my fire usually kills so efficiently.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Since it’s not the real spell, it doesn’t hurt.”

After a moment, she looked at him seriously. "You weren't bringing it up because it was bothering you, were you?" The elf shook his head.

"No. In fact, if the result is us laughing as much as we just had, I could get used to it." He smiled at her gently and offered a hand to help her up as he stood. "I know my opinion doesn't mean much and I know how frustrating it can be to wear your heart on your sleeve, but no one thinks of you any less. You're still the same Hawke."

"It helps that you and Varric are the only ones who know it happens." She smiled at him, not letting go of his hand once she was on her feet. "But I appreciate the sentiment anyway."

"I promise I'll be discreet regardless." He decided against mentioning who he talked to aside from Varric about her abilities. For now.

"Thank you." She offered her open arms for a hug. He eyed her for a moment with a playfully suspicious frown.

"You won't zap me too much again, I hope. We could be here all night and that is a little dangerous."

"Keep that up and I'll actually electrocute you." He took the hug ruefully. "Well, I guess the only thing left to do now is practice controlling this unfortunate tic."

He looked her straight in the eyes and grasped her hand, then lifted it up to his mouth to kiss it. A little tingle charged through his lips again and made him chuckle. She grinned.

"Okay, I need a lot of practice."

They walked hand in hand down the mountain. About halfway into Lowtown, Fenris lifted the exhausted girl up onto his back and carried her home that way. She kept him alert and amused by peppering the back of his head and neck with kisses, each one accompanied by a little electric charge.

He finally got the tired Hawke back to her home, making a plan of going to the Keep to face Aveline's wrath in the morning, and took the rooftop route back home. Every one of those kisses from that day still lingered. She may as well have electrocuted him each time, and it might have lost his mind a little as a result, because that was the only explanation he could think of for why he could not stop smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta aegiskoori from tumblr. Reviews are appreciated to help me get better at writing!


End file.
